Jennifer J. Whipple

Former Stratton, Colorado resident, Jennifer Jo Whipple passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, January 27, 2018 at her home in Berlin, New Jersey. She was 46 years old. Jennifer was born on January 5, 1972 to David and Gabriele (Snelling) Whipple in Yuma, Colorado. She was one of two children born to this union. Even as a child she was thankful for what she had. She was honest, responsible, kind and considerate of others feelings. Once when she was pretty young she was in the hospital. She was sent flowers and she really liked that, as it made her feel like a grown up. She wrote a thank you card that read, Thank you for the flowers. They were beautiful. They are dying now. When Gladys read that and laughed, it hurt her feelings but that was just the way she saw life even at an early age. She attended school in Stratton, Colorado from Pre-K on and graduated from Stratton High School in 1990. While attending school she played basketball and was on the State Championship Basketball team. Her senior year of high school she was crowned the Prom Queen. There was always the gang made up of her close friends Tim Yoder, Ray Lightle, Gary Schaal, Brenda Miller Stevens, Kelly Eisenbart Shaffer, and Kerstin Berry Hornung. What good times they all had and many fun stories can be told. After graduating she went on and attended Barnes Business College in Denver earning her degree in business. She made her career working in the medical insurance IT field as a lead business analyst. Currently she was employed by Navigant in Berlin New Jersey were she was the Senior IT Project Manager. Jennifer had a great sense of humor and was fearless. One of the fond memories of her cousins was when she was living in Denver. She took some of the smaller cousins out for a ride in her Datsun pickup. She took them down the stairs in a grocery cart because the elevator was taking too long. They ran out of gas and a patrolman came along to help. Jennifer told them to keep quiet and she would do the talking. As soon as the cop came up to the pickup, Stephanie said Hi I’m Stephanie Whipple and this is my brother Brad and we snuck out and grandma doesn’t know where we are. She was a member of the ST. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Stratton, Colorado, as well other parishes in the various states and cities she lived in. Much of her spare time was spent doing charity work for the Ronald McDonald House and Packing Philabundance. Jennifer loved playing games with family, traveling, going to church and most of all keeping up with her family and friends. She could see beyond the surface of a person and accepted them for what they were. She loved her life and her job and was comfortable in both. Jennifer was a compassionate, caring woman, loving and loyal to her family and friends. She had a great sense of humor and her laugh was contagious. She was intelligent, level headed, and had a quick mind. Where ever she was she attracted many interesting and often lifelong friends. Jennifer was not afraid to take care of herself and tackle any job that came along. When she was moving from Knoxville to Pennsylvania her aunt Gladys called her to see where she was. She was driving a U-Haul truck towing her car and went through Washington DC. She said I don’t know where I am, but I am driving over a long bridge with a lot of water. She is preceded in death by her grandparents; Forrest and Regina Whipple, Leonard and Hannelore Snelling, uncles; Clifford Whipple and Dennis Oldham, Aunts; Judy Hadley and Kim Armbrister and cousin, Loyd Whipple. Those left to cherish her memories are her parents; David and Gabi of Stratton, Colorado, her brother Greg Whipple (Gisele Waters) of Houston, Texas, nephew Cody Whipple, numerous Aunts, Uncles, cousins, the many friends and associates. Jennifer was a loving daughter, sister, aunt, cousin and friend who will be dearly missed by all. Pallbears Cody Whipple, Brad Whipple, Gerry Whipple, Gary Schaal, Ray Lightle, Tim Yoder, and Bob Brachtenbach. Honorary Pallbears Kerstin Hornung, Kelly Shaffer, Brenda Stevens, Tracy Wittlake, and Sharilyn Burkhalter